Cut Copy used to be one man, Melbourne's Dan Whitford, until his sampler blew up in 2002. As a result Whitford recruited a band to record this debut album, and his synth-pop, once rather bloodless, became more visceral with the addition of guitar and drums. He then drew up a wish list of seminal 1980s producers to work with but found them either dead, disillusioned or expensive. So he chose Philippe Zdar, the French house maestro behind Cassius and Phoenix.

The results are both familiar and fresh and should delight anyone disappointed by New Order's recent album. Dan's soft spoken voice is indeed a close relative of Bernard Sumner's (right down to the whooping on Bright Neon Payphone), and though his way with words is about as impressive as Sumner's, at least he is economical with them. Each song is little more than a repeated refrain. On the lovelorn Future, the bright melodies, bleeps and brooding guitars combine to the greatest effect.